Treasury Regulations · 26 CFR
§ 31.3231(e)-1. Compensation.
Regulation text, no changes From the eCFR, current as of October 15, 2026. The eCFR is an authoritative but unofficial editorial compilation of the Code of Federal Regulations; the official text is the annual CFR on govinfo. Compare it with this section on ecfr.gov (external site) or the official annual CFR on govinfo (external site).
Regulation under 26 U.S.C. § 3231(e)
Cite as 26 CFR § 31.3231(e)-1
At a glance
Read from the text and its source citation. Not part of the regulation.
- Status
- In the current eCFR
- Issued
- December 23, 1994 by T.D. 8582
- Last amended
- September 17, 2003 by T.D. 9092
- Issued under
- 26 U.S.C. § 3231(e)
- Length
- 512 words · about 2 min to read
- Defines
- 1 term
- Cross-references
- cites 3 Code sections and 5 regulations; cited by 9
¶(a) Definition—
¶(1) The term compensation has the same meaning as the term wages in section 3121(a), determined without regard to section 3121(b)(9), except as specifically limited by the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (chapter 22 of the Internal Revenue Code) or regulation. The Commissioner may provide any additional guidance that may be necessary or appropriate in applying the definitions of sections 3121(a) and 3231(e).
¶(2) A payment made by an employer to an individual through the employer's payroll is presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to be compensation for services rendered as an employee of the employer. Likewise, a payment made by an employee organization to an employee representative through the organization's payroll is presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to be compensation for services rendered by the employee representative as such. For rules regarding the treatment of deductions by an employer from remuneration of an employee, see § 31.3123-1.
¶(3) The term compensation is not confined to amounts paid for active service, but includes amounts paid for an identifiable period during which the employee is absent from the active service of the employer and, in the case of an employee representative, amounts paid for an identifiable period during which the employee representative is absent from the active service of the employee organization.
¶(4) Compensation includes amounts paid to an employee for loss of earnings during an identifiable period as the result of the displacement of the employee to a less remunerative position or occupation as well as pay for time lost.
¶(5) For rules regarding the treatment of reimbursement and other expense allowance amounts, see § 31.3121(a)-3. For rules regarding the inclusion of fringe benefits in compensation, see § 31.3121(a)-1T.
¶(6) Split-dollar life insurance arrangements. See §§ 1.61-22 and 1.7872-15 of this chapter for rules relating to the treatment of split-dollar life insurance arrangements.
¶(b) Special Rules.
¶(1) If the amount of compensation earned in any calendar month by an individual as an employee in the service of a local lodge or division of a railway-labor-organization employer is less than $25, the amount is disregarded for purposes of determining the employee tax under section 3201 and the employer tax under section 3221.
¶(2) Compensation for service as a delegate to a national or international convention of a railway-labor-organization employer is disregarded for purposes of determining the employee tax under section 3201 and the employer tax under section 3221 if the individual rendering the service has not previously rendered service, other than as a delegate, which may be included in the individual's years of service for purposes of the Railroad Retirement Act.
¶(3) For special provisions relating to the compensation of certain general chairs or assistant general chairs of a general committee of a railway-labor-organization employer, see paragraph (c)(3) of § 31.3231(b)-1.
[T.D. 8582, 59 FR 66191, Dec. 23, 1994, as amended by T.D. 9092, 68 FR 54361, Sept. 17, 2003]
Terms defined here
Where the text says “the term … means”. Select a term to jump to its definition.
Cross-references
Computed from the citations in the text of 26 CFR.
Code sections it cites
Regulations it cites
- § 31.3123-1 Deductions by an employer from remuneration of an employee.
- § 31.3121(a)-3 Reimbursement and other expense allowance amounts.
- § 31.3121(a)-1T Question and answer relating to the definition of wages in section 3121(a) (Temporary).
- § 1.61-22 Taxation of split-dollar life insurance arrangements.
- § 31.3231(b)-1 Who are employees.
Cited by 9 other regulations
- § 31.3201-1 Measure of employee tax.
- § 31.3211-1 Measure of employee representative tax.
- § 31.3212-1 Determination of compensation.
- § 31.3221-1 Measure of employer tax.
- § 31.3221-3 Supplemental tax.
- § 31.6011(a)-2 Returns under Railroad Retirement Tax Act.
- § 31.6053-1 Report of tips by employee to employer.
- § 31.6413(c)-1 Special refunds.
- § 32.2 Railroad retirement taxes with respect to payments on account of sickness or accident disability.
Amendment history
From the source citation at the end of the section, newest first. T.D. is a Treasury decision; FR is the Federal Register.
- Amended by T.D. 9092 (68 FR 54361)
- Issued by T.D. 8582 (59 FR 66191)
Where it sits in 26 CFR
- Subchapter C Employment taxes and collection of income tax at source
- Part 31 Employment taxes and collection of income tax at source
- Subpart C Railroad Retirement Tax Act (Chapter 22, Internal Revenue Code of 1954)
- General Provisions